Brian ParaProduct Design & Digital Experience LeaderLet’s connect
Brian Para
Leadership

People first.
Outcomes always.

I build design organizations people want to join and executives want to fund. Then I hold both to the same test: did it move the number?

Person organization built and led
Digital portfolio directed
Experiments a year
Value from experimentation
Annual customer interactions
Approach

Generous with people.
Relentless about outcomes.

Six rules I lead by. Each one comes with a number, because a principle without proof is just a poster.

My teams can count on

  • A clear why, and the freedom to decide how
  • Coaching, and a real path to the next role
  • Cover when it’s hard. Credit when it lands.

Executives can count on

  • Design tied to strategy, with a number on it
  • Trade-offs stated plainly, before they become surprises
  • Delivery you can plan a quarter around

  • People before process

    Hire for range. Coach in the open. Give away the credit, keep the blame.

    6 people to 40 at MAPFRE

  • Start with the customer’s moment

    Design backward from what someone is actually trying to get done, not from the org chart.

    +32% Term Life quote completion

  • Every decision earns a metric

    Opinions start the conversation. Evidence ends it. Teams own outcomes, not output.

    100+ experiments a year, $15M+ in value

  • Build systems, not screens

    If quality depends on one great designer, it doesn’t scale. Systems do.

    Two design systems: 90% adoption, −20% design & development cost

  • Design the operating model

    The fastest way to better design is often fixing how work gets decided.

    +62% more story points delivered at USAA

  • Translate for the boardroom

    If the CFO can’t repeat the case, it doesn’t get funded. I write the case.

    Decision products for 500+ executives at Travelers
Team impact

Org charts don’t ship.
Teams that own the outcome do.

I’ve done the two hardest jobs in design leadership: building an organization from almost nothing, and changing how an established one works. Both times, the proof showed up in the numbers.

MAPFREBuild it from scratch

Six people became the company’s #1 source of new business.

The bet
MAPFRE wanted to sell auto insurance direct, without agents. It had six people to do it: two analysts, a marketer, a UX specialist, a manager and a product owner.
The build
I grew it into a 40-person matrixed organization that could take an idea from insight to production on its own: BI, design for two brands, digital marketing, product, two engineering teams, delivery and business development.
The rules
One goal: grow direct. I owned direction and priorities; product owners owned the daily trade-offs. Innovation sprints gave every good idea a path to production.
70%Annual direct-channel growth. Digital became MAPFRE’s #1 producer of new business.
USAAChange how it works

We stopped letting the loudest request win.

The problem
Agile ceremonies, waterfall reality. Release trains took orders from product management, and every fire drill jumped the queue. Teams stayed busy; the work that mattered most kept waiting.
The fix
My team and I built the POD model: one persistent team per customer value stream, owning it end to end, with the authority to set its own priorities. Finish what matters most. Then start the next thing.
The proof
It worked well enough to spread. The model scaled to teams beyond my own.
+62%More delivered: story points completed, against the legacy teams’ baseline.
Career

From the mailroom
to the design org.

I started in 2005 as a mail clerk at Commerce Insurance, before it became MAPFRE. From there I moved to customer service, then supervised and managed operations teams, then became an underwriting analyst, and then moved into digital. I learned how an insurance business actually runs one job at a time, from the inside.

Design-trained at Rhode Island School of Design, I've gone from redesigning customer journeys, to building the design systems and teams behind them, to directing a $30M digital portfolio. Today I lead new digital experiences and design for USAA Life: I lead the design of every new front-end experience, and own the research, analytics and qualitative insight behind it. I'm also completing an MBA in business intelligence and data analytics.

View resume
  1. 2022 – PresentUSAA Life Company
    Director, Digital Product & Technical Management
    2026 – Present · New Digital Experiences & Design
    2024 – 2026 · Post-Sale Experiences
    2022 – 2024 · Digital Insights & Governance

    One director role, three portfolios: digital insights and governance, then post-sale experiences, and now new digital experiences and design across Life, Health, Retirement and Annuities. $30M portfolio and $15M+ from experimentation.

  2. 2019 – 2022Travelers
    Senior Director, Business Intelligence & Product Strategy

    Strategy, product, experience design and analytics for decision platforms, including the Risk Control Operating Dashboard: one intelligence hub for 30 business units, consolidating 20+ applications and tools. 90% adoption, −65% task time.

  3. 2015 – 2019MAPFRE Insurance
    2019 · Director, Enterprise Strategy & Transformation · Head of Innovation Lab
    2017 – 2018 · Director, Digital Product & Experience · UX, Design Systems & Omnichannel
    2015 – 2017 · Manager, Digital Products & Experience · UX & Journey Design

    Grew digital into the #1 new-business producer, with J.D. Power-recognized shopping, −36% time to market and an $8M+ Innovation Lab.

  4. 2005 – 2015Commerce Insurance → MAPFRE
    Mail clerk to digital product

    Started in the mailroom, then customer service, operations supervisor and manager, and underwriting analyst before moving into digital product, UX and digital commerce.

EducationBFA, Rhode Island School of Design · HCI Certificate, Georgia Tech · MBA, UMass Global (Dec 2026)

The work

Three problems. Three ways to lead.

Build and scale itAuto insuranceFrom independent agents to direct.View case study Transform the experienceLife insuranceMake a complex life moment feel clear.View case study Define the futureInvestmentsFrom investment website to intelligent destination.View case study
In their words

The people I reported to.

“Brian has a rare ability to see the whole system. He connects customer needs, data, design and business strategy in ways that turn complexity into clear direction and meaningful outcomes.”
VP, Digital & Omnichannel EnablementDirect manager · Fortune 100 financial services
“Brian is the leader you want when the problem is complex and the path forward isn’t obvious. He creates clarity, aligns teams and turns ambitious strategy into work that actually gets delivered.”
SVP, Digital & Strategy OfficerDirect manager · Fortune Global 500 international insurance group
“Brian raises the bar for both the work and the people around him. He combines high expectations with trust, empathy and clarity, creating teams that do some of their best work together.”
AVP, Chief Digital OfficerDirect manager · Fortune 100 financial services

Names withheld at their employers’ request.

Let’s connect

Need design that moves the business,
not just the pixels?

Let’s talk View resumeLinkedIn (opens in a new tab)